[eternal05]

Hey guys,

For those of you that work on your own bikes, what equipment do you have (or want to have) in your garage to make life easy? I’m talking everything you’d need to change a tire, change your oil, rejet carbs, check compression, and on and on. The whole lot. No, seriously. Don’t hold back

While we’re at it, anybody have brand recommendations?

[Clay Dowling]

First and most important item. Probably also your most expensive.

Good set of metric wrenches & sockets.

I don’t quite have the nerve to tackle the carbs yet, so I can’t speak to that.

Tire changing stand & balancing stand – Paying somebody else $60 to do it gets old after a while. The stand from Harbor Freight can be converted for cars too (probably most of them can), and this might save me a bundle of money down the road. Don’t have it right now though.

[eternal05]

Any particular make you’ve had good experience with for wrenches/sockets/wenches/drivers?

[Elias]

Stands (although I like elwood’s setup), air compressor, air tools, work table, GOOD LIGHTING, and the full setup of hand tools. All this in a nice open space (big shed or two car garage) with oil resistant flooring…granted, this is my future ‘dream’ setup lol

I’m a Craftsman guy, personally. I would go Snap On if they weren’t so damned expensive

[SantaCruzRider]

Something cold to drink and clean rags to absorb the copious amounts of blood that seem to appear most everytime I start wrenching.

A radio turned up load enough to mask any bouts of swearing is often also appreciated by family members.

[Munch]

All of the above…with I-net connection for reference and manuals.
Being an auto mechanic… I can tell ya that Craftsman isn’t what they used to be… I have just snapped my 5th 10″ long 3/4″ drive ratchet. I prefer Matco over most, hate snap on with a passion, more due to the company and not so much the tools. Cornwell is ok , but few and far between in my area Mac is about comparable to Matco.

[eternal05]

You’ve shown me the real tools! In browsing the Matco site I realize now why all the equivalent tools in the Home Depot catalogue are so damn cheap. But damn, son. It’s going to be years before the dream of a fully equipped garage becomes a reality.

[ronkore]

Don’t forget a torque wrench so you know you’re tightening things correctly. That’s the next thing on my list and I’ve been putting it off since I don’t really know what kind is best. I’m in need of a 10-150 ft/lb range and a 20-250in/lb one.. and there are all kinds.. digital, automatic, and deflector beam. Some automatics are $50, others $500. With so many choices and such a wide price range, it seems to be quite the gamble.

As for socket tools, yea I went with craftsman too, just got a 1/2 inch metric starter set last week. I can’t afford the real stuff like snap on, etc.. easily 10 times the price!

[Munch]

yea I easily have $10,000 worth of tools in my box at the shop…and thats under estimating… plus my box is $4500 . So yea, unless you use them professionally it makes no sense to dump that much into it. Cobalt (Lowe’s brand I think) is actually a step up from Craftsman.

[Author]

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